Department for Sunshine

Department for Sunshine (2015) is a collaborative exploration between scientists Jan Rongé, Christopher Windle, Christine Caputo and Dave Wakerley and artist Marina Velez.

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This work addresses the quest to find an answer to energy challenges and  renewable resources through the visual language of video and light. 

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'In our research we are developing materials for solar production of hydrogen: the result will be a solar cell which yields fuels instead of electricity. Fuel generation provides a solution to the energy storage problem of intermittent electricity. We can therefore use solar energy (stored in a fuel) even in the dark, from the fuel that was generated during sunshine before. Moreover, the solar hydrogen can be used not only to produce electricity, but also for transportation or even synthesis of sustainable plastics. Water (H2O) is split into its constituents to form oxygen gas (O2) and hydrogen gas (H2). The solar energy required for this reaction is captured by semiconductors, similar to those used in today’s solar cells. A key challenge is finding low-cost, earth-abundant materials for this task that do not degrade under the reaction conditions.' Reisner Lab's scientists.